HOOVER CITY SCHOOLS
Wes still thinks about technology projects the way he used to think about construction projects.“ You have to get the groundwork first. That sets the foundation for everything that gets built above it. And if the groundwork’ s not right, it can cause everything to eventually fail,” he explains.“ It also taught me the value of sequencing, coordination and safety: all principles that translate directly into a technology deployment.”
Hoover City Schools implements Cisco Meraki network modernisation project The district is currently midway through a multi-year E-rate funded network infrastructure overhaul, replacing ageing on-premise systems with Cisco Meraki switches and wireless access points across all campuses.“ It’ s about future-proofing the district, building a network that can grow with our needs, rather than reacting to them. There’ s nothing worse than getting yourself into a position where you’ re reacting to the things that are happening in your environment,” Wes says.“ The goal isn’ t just new hardware. It’ s a unified, cloud-managed environment that gives us real-time visibility. It should allow us to respond and troubleshoot issues faster.” The shift from on-premise to cloudbased network management marks a change in operational approach for Hoover City Schools. The district had maintained physical servers and locally-managed infrastructure for its
“ I still see technology projects as a building project. You have to get the groundwork first”
Wes Wilbanks, Director of IT, Hoover City Schools
entire operational history. Moving to a cloud-based network management system creates new possibilities for partner engagement and support.
“ Being cloud-based with our network management is a huge change for our district. Another plus of moving things into a cloudmanaged environment is that, when needed, it allows us to bring a partner in quicker, because they have access into our environment off-prem.” Wes says.
The technology team manages everything from network infrastructure and cybersecurity to classroom technology and end-user support. The department operates in two divisions whilst functioning as a unified team, with Wes overseeing the network infrastructure side whilst a parallel group handles classroom instructional technology.
146 January 2026